AstraZeneca’s Moventig now available through NHS
pharmafile | October 9, 2015 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, moventig
AstraZeneca has announced that Moventig (naloxegol) has been made available for adult patients with opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in England and Wales through the National Health Service (NHS).
Moventig is the first once-daily oral peripherally-acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist (PAMORA) and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a cost-effective treatment for adult patients with OIC who have had an inadequate response to laxatives.
NICE, which approved the drug in July, says Moventig would be equally effective in people with cancer pain who have OIC. However, the watchdog recommends doctors consult the summary of product characteristics before prescribing, due to the limited clinical experience of Moventig in this patient population.
The drug is contraindicated in adult patients with underlying cancer who are at heightened risk of gastro-intestinal (GI) perforation. The Committee however, was persuaded that Moventig is equally effective in this patient population.
Millions of patients are prescribed with opioid treatments each year and OIC is the most commonly-reported side effect. The incidence of OIC in patients with chronic pain varies and has been suggested to be as high as 81%.
Although opioids play an important role in pain management by binding to mu-receptors in the central nervous system (CNS) providing analgesic effects, they can also bind to mu-receptors in the bowel, which can lead to OIC.
Dr Andrew Davies, clinical director Supportive & Palliative Care at Royal Surrey County Hospital, comments: “Opioid induced constipation is a common problem, which can have a significant impact on quality of life. Current management options are somewhat limited, and so the release of a new targeted treatment is very welcome.”
OIC is also common in cancer patients who require regular opioid administration for pain and rates of the condition in patients receiving opioids and cancer treatment can range from 69-90%. Of those taking opioid analgesics, around 87% of patients require laxatives.
Moventig’s mechanism of action differs from that of conventional laxatives, in that it binds to mu-receptors in the bowel, targeting the underlying cause of OIC at its source in the bowel without impacting opioid-mediated analgesic effects on the central nervous system.
Moventig was approved based largely on safety and efficacy data from the KODIAC clinical programme, which was comprised of four studies of more than 2000 adult patients in total. The drug’s safety profile was found to be consistent.
Joel Levy
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